Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen worked 6.2 innings, but gave up five runs as Tampa Bay Rays score decisive win.
When a team's offense just does not deliver consistently in a game, then chances of winning that game just fall apart. That's what happened to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night as they dropped a 6-1 decision to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Gallen's record drops to 3-7 this season. In 6.2 innings, he gave up four hits, five earned runs, walked two, didn't strike out a batter, and gave up two home runs. Gallen now has a 6.15 ERA for the season. Reliever Juan Burgos worked the final 1.1 innings for the Diamondbacks, giving up two hits and one earned run.
Martinez Outduels Gallen
Rays starter Nick Martinez gets the victory and goes to 7-2 this season. Martinez worked 5.2 innings, giving up six hits, one earned run, didn't walk a batter, struck out three, and gave up one home run.
That lone home run came in Arizona's top of the first inning, when Geraldo Perdomo slammed his fifth home run this season. Perdomo hit his homer over the right-center field wall at Tropicana Field. One batter later, Corbin Carroll hit his 10th triple this season, but the Diamondbacks didn't score again.
Gallen just didn't get off to a good start at all. He walked Yandy Díaz to start the bottom of the first, then hit Jonathan Aranda with a pitch. Junior Caminero stepped into the batter's box and sent a Gallen pitch over the center-field wall. Díaz and Aranda scored ahead of Caminero and the Rays had a lead that they never gave up.
Rays Pound Diamondbacks Pitching
Tampa Bay added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Cedric Mullins hit his seventh home run, a solo shot, to extend the Rays' lead to 4-1. With two outs, Hunter Feduccia doubled to center. That brought Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to take the ball from Gallen and turn the game over to Burgos.
Diaz singled to right and Feduccia scored as the Rays upped their advantage to 5-1. Aranda doubled and Diaz scored to make it 6-1 Tampa Bay and, well, that was the ballgame.
Arizona was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven total runners on base. As for Tampa Bay, they were 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left three total runners on base.
Max Kepler, who was reinstated from the restricted list on Thursday, saw his first action this season on Friday night. Kepler ended up going 0-for-2 and was replaced by a pinch-hitter midway through the game.
The D-backs fall to 41-40 and sit in third place in the National League West Division. The Rays are now 46-33 and are in second place in the American League East Division. Both teams go at it again on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. MT, then Diamondbacks fans can have breakfast while watching their team play at 10:40 a.m. MT.
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